NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1979 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 1072

SENATE BILL 216

 

 

AN ACT TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF JUDICIAL OFFICIALS THROUGHOUT THE STATE AND TO MAKE AN APPROPRIATION THEREFOR.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 7A-41, as the same appears in the 1978 Interim Supplement to the General Statutes, is amended:

(a)  by deleting on the second line the numbers "30 (33)" and substituting in lieu thereof the number "33"; and

(b)  in the table, so that the total number of full-time assistant district attorneys for the indicated judicial districts reads as follows:

"Judicial District                                                                  Number of Full-Time

                                                                                             Assistant District

                                                                                               Attorneys

               1                                                                                          4

               3                                                                                          8

               5                                                                                          7

               6                                                                                          4

               7                                                                                          5

               9                                                                                          4

              11                                                                                         5

              16                                                                                         6

              22                                                                                         6

              23                                                                                         3

              18                                                                                        13

              25                                                                                         7

              26                                                                                        19

              28                                                                                         5

              29                                                                                         4."

The provisions of this subsection relating to the number of assistant district attorneys in Judicial District 26 shall be deemed to add two district attorneys in addition to the two to be added to Judicial District 26 by Senate Bill 124, when and if ratified.

Sec. 2.  G.S. 7A-133, as the same appears in the 1978 Interim Supplement to the General Statutes is amended, in the table, so that the quotas of magistrates for the indicated counties read as follows:

            "County                                                             Magistrates

                                                                              Minimum-Maximum

            Brunswick                                                                 -7

            Buncombe                                                              6 - 13

            Burke                                                                     4 - 7

            Cabarrus                                                                5 - 9

            Gaston                                                                  11 - 20

            Granville                                                                 3 - 6

            New Hanover                                                         6 - 10

            Onslow                                                                  8 - 11

            Rockingham                                                           4 - 9

            Rowan                                                                   5 - 10

            Scotland                                                                 2 - 4

            Wayne                                                                   5 - 8."

Sec. 3.  G.S. 7A-133, as appears in the 1978 Interim Supplement to the General Statutes, is amended, in the table, so that the quotas for district court judges read as follows:

"District                                                               Judges

                        1                                                                      3

                        3                                                                      6

                        4                                                                      5

                        5                                                                      4

                        13                                                                    4

                        27B                                                                  3

                        29                                                                    4.

The additional district court judges authorized by this section for District 1 shall be appointed by the Governor to serve until the first Monday in December, 1982. The appointees' successors shall be chosen in the general election of November, 1982, to serve a four-year term beginning the first Monday in December, 1982.

The additional district court judges authorized by this section for Districts 3, 4, 5, 13, 27B and 29 shall be appointed by the Governor to serve until the first Monday in December, 1980. The appointees' successors shall be chosen in the general election of November, 1980, to serve a four-year term beginning the first Monday in December, 1980."

Sec. 4.  Senate Bill 124, when and if ratified, is amended by adding a new section immediately preceding the section establishing that bill's effective date to be numbered appropriately and to read as follows:

"The additional district court judge authorized by this act for District 14 shall be appointed by the Governor to serve until the first Monday in December, 1982. The appointee's successor shall be chosen in the general election of November, 1982, to serve a four-year term beginning the first Monday in December, 1982.

The additional district court judge authorized by this act for District 26 shall be appointed by the Governor to serve until the first Monday in December, 1980. The appointee's successor shall be chosen in the general election of November, 1980, to serve a four-year term beginning the first Monday in December, 1980."

Sec. 5.  New deputy clerk of court positions are created and allocated to the clerks of the Superior Court in the numbers and to the counties as follows:

"Alexander 1          Lee                  1

Anson                    1          Lenoir              1

Bertie                     1          Lincoln 1

Bladen                    1          McDowell        1

Brunswick              2          Mecklenburg    2

Buncombe              2          Mitchell            1

Burke                     1          Montgomery     1

Cabarrus                2          Moore              1

Caldwell                 1          New Hanover   2

Carteret                  2          Onslow            1

Catawba                1          Orange 1

Cherokee               1          Pamlico            2

Chowan                 1          Pasquotank      1

Cleveland               1          Pender             1

Columbus               1          Pitt                   3

Craven                   2          Randolph          1

Currituck                1          Richmond         1

Duplin                    1          Robeson           2

Durham                  2          Rockingham     1

Edgecombe            1          Rowan             1

Franklin                  2          Rutherford        1

Gaston                   3          Sampson          1

Granville                 2          Stanly               1

Guilford                  2          Stokes              1

Halifax                    2          Swain               1

Harnett                   1          Wake               3

Henderson              1          Washington      1

Hoke                      1          Wayne             2

Iredell                     1          Wilkes              1

Jackson                  1          Wilson            2

Johnston                 1          Yadkin 1.

Sec. 6.  New secretarial positions are created and allocated to the district attorneys in the districts and in the number as follows:

District       Secretaries

12                 1

15A              1

17                 1

24                 1

26                 2

27A              1

28                 1

29                 1.

Sec. 7.  New secretarial/reporter positions are created and allocated to the chief district court judges in the districts and in the number as follows:

District       Secretary/Reporters

13                 1

14                 1

19A              1.

Sec. 8.  A new investigatorial assistant position is created and allocated to the District Attorney of Judicial District 19B.

Sec. 9.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Judicial Department for the new positions created by this act the sum of one million eight hundred thirty-two thousand four hundred forty-nine dollars ($1,832,449) for the 1979-1980 fiscal year and the sum of one million eight hundred thirty-three thousand eight hundred seventy dollars ($1,833,870) for the 1980-1981 fiscal year.

Sec. 10.  Subchapter VII of Chapter 7A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article 29A to read as follows:

"Article 29A.

"Trial Court Administrator.

"§ 7A-355.  Trial court administrators. — The following judicial districts shall have trial court administrators: 10th, 22nd, and 28th and such other judicial districts as may be designated by the Administrative Office of the Courts.

"§ 7A-356.  Duties. — The duties of the trial court administrator shall be to assist the judges of the judicial districts in managing the civil docket, to improve jury utilization and to perform such duties as may be assigned by the senior resident superior court judge or by other judges designated by the senior resident superior court judge."

Sec. 11.  The North Carolina Courts Commission as created by the 1979 Session of the North Carolina General Assembly is directed to study the qualifications, duties, compensation and effectiveness of the office of trial court administrator as described in North Carolina General Statutes 7A-355 and report the results of such study to the 1981 Session of the North Carolina General Assembly on or before February 1, 1981.

Sec. 12.  This act shall become effective on July 1, 1979.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 8th day of June, 1979.